[Tex94]

Anyone have any tips on removing the side vents? I have a set of gloss black ones from IND to replace the cerium gray but I cannot seem to be able to pry them loose and I am very worried about damaging the paint. There are lots of guides and videos online for the grills and mirrors but nothing for the side vents. Any tips?

I was able to swap out the grills and the mirror caps no problem but am stuck on these. Here is what I was trying to do:

1. Used painters tape all around the side vents to protect the paint.
2. From the new pieces it looks like the clips are all around the back/aft side so I used 2 different pry tools to try and unclip each one. I can get the pry tool in there but I haven’t been able to unclip anything and start to get them to wiggle free.

If anyone has done this it would be great to learn. I’d really like to get rid of the cerium but not at the expense of the paint!

[Marmugmotleocay]

I’m interested in this as well. I can’t find anything online. The easiest way I can think of is remove the wheel well liner and pop them out from behind. That’s the way I removed the reflectors on my M235.

[animal.style]

I used one of those reference guides to show where the tabs are. But I can't find where on the forum I found it now. You should be fine just using the new pieces for reference. If I remember correctly, I used a plastic pry tool (a cheap one from amazon) and released all the tabs. I pulled it out enough to fit my fingers in and wiggled it loose, pulling toward the rear of the vehicle. I had to pull on it a little harder than expected, but it also turned out I broke half the tabs on both sides. But no damage to the paint.

Good luck! It'll look a lot better once you're done!

[suby01]

There are at least 5 threads on this. Some have actually have clear instructions.

They pop out with a pry tool from the backside of the car. And you full them to the backside also. To remove the fender is just silly.

Side Vents https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1627475


Anyone have the install guide videos for the side vents, mirror caps and boomerangs? https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1598370

[chicagofan00]

My side vents popped off extremely easily. Used a trim removal tool and had both sides off in under a minute and he new ones from IND popped right in without issue.

[Tex94]

Yes, I see there are other threads but most of them just "stick a pry tool in there an it pops right out" or something to that effect. I must be an idiot and/or too nervous with respect t to the paint. Was hoping for something more detailed.

Ironically, i thought these would be the easiest and grills and mirrors would be hard. Did all of those in less than 20 minutes but no go on this one. Maybe I will have another go at some point.

[Mpetey]

Originally Posted by Tex94

Yes, I see there are other threads but most of them just "stick a pry tool in there an it pops right out" or something to that effect. I must be an idiot and/or too nervous with respect t to the paint. Was hoping for something more detailed.

Ironically, i thought these would be the easiest and grills and mirrors would be hard. Did all of those in less than 20 minutes but no go on this one. Maybe I will have another go at some point.

I had a few issues as well, they were extremely tight an i was sure i was going to break the paint or worse. If you have the long end of the pry tool, i inserted towards the top (body side not the front-gill slat) and just bent it towards the rear/out and worked down the gill. I went from top to bottom and when they were loose enough to get my fingers behind, then i just pulled. It was way more force than i thought was needed but they came right out without damage to the gills or the car. Once i had the first off, then i was less worried about the second and had it out in 90 seconds. I hope this helps, and i ordered from IND as well, on the order page there is like a $4 pry tool, that's what i bought.

[Tex94]

Originally Posted by Mpetey

I had a few issues as well, they were extremely tight an i was sure i was going to break the paint or worse. If you have the long end of the pry tool, i inserted towards the top (body side not the front-gill slat) and just bent it towards the rear/out and worked down the gill. I went from top to bottom and when they were loose enough to get my fingers behind, then i just pulled. It was way more force than i thought was needed but they came right out without damage to the gills or the car. Once i had the first off, then i was less worried about the second and had it out in 90 seconds. I hope this helps, and i ordered from IND as well, on the order page there is like a $4 pry tool, that's what i bought.

Thanks! I will give that a try

[Marmugmotleocay]

Originally Posted by suby01

There are at least 5 threads on this. Some have actually have clear instructions.

They pop out with a pry tool from the backside of the car. And you full them to the backside also. To remove the fender is just silly.

Side Vents https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1627475


Anyone have the install guide videos for the side vents, mirror caps and boomerangs? https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1598370

Remove fender?

[suby01]

Originally Posted by Marmugmotleocay

Remove fender?

Fender-liner aka Wheel well liner. Missed 1 word and it becomes confusing I get it. Not entire fender.

[teaston]

You need to push them in this direction to compress the flexible clips down the rear edge:

[Tex94]

I finally, finally completed this task. You all were right, once you approach it with confidence it’s a pretty simple task. It does take more force than I expected and putting the new ones back in was trickier than I thought but it probably took 10 minutes total and most of that was me prepping the car with painters tape.

Thanks all!

[Jeepersjoey]

You can try what I did to get mine out. I got hit by a spinning pathfinder on ice.

The things just popped right out with no broken tabs.
Paul

Reminds me of Ron White talking about his friend that was all decked out in hunting wear, who woke at the crack of down, and quietly waited for the deer. Ron said that you need to be driving a 4K lb minivan with lights on, horn blowing, and the driver screaming. He said you'll get a deer every time!

[Tex94]

Originally Posted by Jeepersjoey

You can try what I did to get mine out. I got hit by a spinning pathfinder on ice.

The things just popped right out with no broken tabs.
Paul

Reminds me of Ron White talking about his friend that was all decked out in hunting wear, who woke at the crack of down, and quietly waited for the deer. Ron said that you need to be driving a 4K lb minivan with lights on, horn blowing, and the driver screaming. He said you'll get a deer every time!

Hmm, I’m glad I didn’t have to try that technique!